Things With Feathers
by Blueh
Summary: Shanks was the one that gave them hope first. Without him, they were just three lonely little boys with abusive company and a lifetime of issues. They say that time heals all wounds, but the scars will always remain. AU ; Detective!Shanks


Shanks never believed in miracles back then. He never held the faith that, maybe; _just maybe_, his life would be worth _so much _to the people around him. To the people that cared about him. He never realized that he meant anything; never wondered what his place in life was.

Looking back on it, Shanks probably would have laughed at how young and stupid he was. In this world of the predators and prey, _every single person _has a place and a destiny that will surely change the outcome of someone's life drastically. _Everyone _means something, no matter how small or insignificant they might seem on the outside.

Shanks never once stopped his busy ass life, just for a moment, breathed in the air around him and just watched as the miracles know as life fluttered around him, dancing like the leaves in the wind. He never once saw the simple things like normal kids laughing and screaming as they jumped around the playground, not having to worry about the demons that lurk only a few feet away in the dark shadows or when an person peacefully fades away, living their life as best as they could and not having their entire existence ripped out from under them because of one fowl mistake.

It was the simple things like this that held no meaning to him back all those years ago. When the world was black and white and it was simply kill or be killed. There was no looking forward to waking up, no dreams of the peace that might eventually engulf the world when he laid down for the night, ready to drift off into an empty sleep. Everything was dull, colorless; there was no meaning other than to get up and do _what he had to. _

But this was before _they_ came; the ones that changed his life forever.

It all started on a Saturday evening. The crisp autumn air yanking the leaves off of the trees, making them dance through the empty park, creating a feeling of peace and tranquility. He closed his eyes, simply listening to the sound of his shoes as they clipped the worn down sidewalk. His scarf was wrapped tightly around his neck and cheeks, preventing the cool breeze from causing him any discomfort.

_This was what it is to live_, he thought. _To have no worries in this world._

But deep down in his heart, he knew that he was only trying to fool himself. The worry was all around him, he was only delaying it for an hour or two because, as soon as he stepped near his apartment, everything would come rushing back. Everything from his work, from his little love life, from his taxes. There was nothing that he _couldn't _worry about.

There was no freedom in this world.

But for now, he could push everything down, separate it from his being. Shake it off of his mind and leave it so it could drag behind him silently. It might help for a while, but there was no way to separate the chain that kept a firm hold on it and eventually, with one small tug, everything would come rushing back.

"Binkusu no sake o . . ."

Shanks tapped his finger on his thigh, humming an old song that's been passed down through his family for generations. It was said that their ancestors would sing it in times of great joy, but also great sadness. They would sing it when they were free, watching as the waves crashed against their ships as they explored the lands that were unknown. Now _that _would be the life, he thought. The freedom brought through sailing the seas. Sadly, it was only a childhood fantasy now. He'd moved on, got a life, taken up a job as a cop and was soon promoted to a detective a little while after. It wasn't the ideal existence, but it paid well and he had enough money to support himself for a while.

"Todoke ni yuku yo . . ."

At first, it took a while to get use to everything, especially his new job. He always thought that seeing a body wouldn't be a big deal; he'd seen several pictures of some the most brutal attacks on the Internet and had a few years experience during his years of being a police officer. However, that was nowhere _near _what it was like to be up close and personal almost every day of his life.

His job helped influence his outsides views as well because every time he was just a_ fraction of a second late _or missed a _single detail, _it killed a little of him inside as well. Watching someone die right in front of him was something he never wanted to experience again, no matter what it took.

Granted, it only happened once, back when he was a newbie, but it didn't matter. It hauted him, that face of the woman as she fell, lifeless and cold with the sounds of wailing in the background as the two week old baby watched it's only parent fall. He remembered the sadistic face of the killer as he raised the knife, aiming for him, fully intent on killing Shanks next. He remembered the growing panic that he had to force down as he steadied his gun and shot.

"Umikaze kimakase namimakase . . ."

Once.

Twice.

Until the killer fell as well.

Everything else was a blur, but he knew it was all _his fault. _If he had paid just a _little _more attention, just gotten there a _little quicker, _then maybe neither of them would've had to die. He spend the next two years wondering all the 'what ifs' or 'maybe if I just' but it didn't matter anymore; what good would it do, anyway? They had already fallen, faded into the back of everyone's mind.

Shanks sighed, kicking a stray stone out off of the path, feeling little satisfaction as it jumped into the grass, hiding from his view. Everything that happened on that day was irrelevant.

His eyes wandered upward; watching as darker clouds started to sneak upon the city, ready to devour innocent civilians that had no clue that it was coming. He sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets and figured that it was probably better that he got home soon, or he'd end up getting caught up in the storm. He started to quicken his pace, aware that he could practically hear the wind howling as it flew past him, almost like it was . . . running from something. He turned his head to look, his paranoia getting the better of him and—

Something smacked him in the face, temporarily covering his small world in darkness. He yelped in surprise, jumping around and hollering as he grasped at his face, trying to get _whatever the heck _decided to use his head as a way to stop _off_ of him. It was almost pathetic when he finally realized that he was not being attacked by some demon child monster, but instead a simple piece of newspaper that had been caught up in the storm. Shanks huffed, a small pout crossing his face as he peeled the paper away, his curiosity getting the better of him. His eyes quickly skimmed the title, only to stop and raise an eyebrow.

**Family left dead! Three boys now missing.**

He stopped walking, ignoring the leaves and wind as they pelted his coat, almost like they were demanding their much needed attention. He hadn't been told of this case, even though it would technically fall under his jurisdiction. Missing kids? Dead parents?

"Murderer broke into the D's house late last night," He read aloud, though he was careful to keep his voice low. "Eyewitness reports seeing the man break a window . . . gun shots were soon heard after . . .both parents were killed, the three boys missing . . . The house was set on fire soon after . . . Police are still looking for possible suspects, though there has been no update as of yet." His eyes scanned the top for a date, only to find that the incident happened just a few nights ago, relatively close to where he lived.

"Damn." Shanks muttered, shaking his head. He gazed at the picture of their burning house as fire trucks and police cars surrounded it. The detective bit the inside of his cheek, clenching his hand into a fist. Slowly, he forced himself to relax, closing his eyes and breathing in the nature around him. There was nothing he could do for them now; it wasn't his case. Hopefully his coworkers would find the kids before something bad happened to them, if they were even alive, but it was almost impossible. Most kids died within the first 24 hours of kidnapping and add a murderer on top of that?

The chances weren't good.

A strong gust of wind suddenly tore through the park, tearing the newspaper from his hands. Shanks cried out, reaching for it, but his fingers fell just short of the edge. He watched it fly through the trees and disappear, a strong sense of foreboding appearing in his gut. He wasn't sure if it was the apprehension from the murder or fear for the missing boys, but he knew, somehow, it wouldn't be the last time he'd hear of that family.

Because they were the start of many.

* * *

**Yo! So this is basically what I've been doing for the past two months. Making yet another story. Whoops. But to be fair, I've been planning this story out for a long time and already have up to chapter six planned out and everything. This is going to be a short little story, seeing as it was originally suppose to be a one-shot, but giant-ass one-shots are a pain to write, so I broke it up. **

**Okay, so in this story, Shanks is a Cold Case Detective, which is basically a detective that can work on local, state, or federal level investigations involving missing children or unsolved homicide cases. They usually work alone, but can sometimes have partners with larger cases. They will interview the witnesses and/or family members or pretty much anyone that they feel is connected to the case. **

**Also, if you haven't noticed, they're going to be ooc. This world takes place in a world similar to ours, one where society seems to continuously drag us down. Shanks isn't very happy right now, his job is getting to him as well as real life issues such as taxes and people in general. When ASL appears, they're going to have issues too that you'll later see in the other chapters. **

**But this is the first chapter and I hope you enjoyed it ! **


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